Garment



Nov. 1, 1949. M. B. TEAMER 2,486,581

GKRMENT Filed April 10, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

MILDRED B. TEAMER M. B. TEAMER Nov.- 1, 1949.

GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed vApril 10, 1946 Peeps INVENTOR.

MILDRED B. TEAMER ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 1, 1949 GARMENT Mildred B. Teamer, Philadelphia County, Pa., as-

signor to Seamprufe Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 10, 1946, Serial No. 660,931

3 Claims.

This application is a continuation in part of application Serial Number 452,903, filed July 30, 1942, now abandoned.

This invention relates to improvements in womens garments and more particularly in garments such as gowns worn externally, nightgowns and the like, or undergarments of the type commonly known as slips.

To be form-fitting, a garment must possess elasticity at least in certain parts thereof, particularly if no special opening [or closing devices are provided, as is usually the case, for putting on and taking off the garment. Elasticity can be attained to a considerable extent without using special materials by taking advantage of the resiliency of the commonly used woven materials cut on the bias. Bias-cut garments however tend to sag in places and ride on the Wearers figure. Hence a number of efforts have been made in the art to produce a garment structure having the form-fitting, resilient properties impartedv by bias-cut materials without the attending disadvantages.

All the garments of the prior art are deficient in a very important respect. Any basic garment structure of this class should be adaptable on the one hand to the individual figure of the wearer, and on the other to the changing fashions, without departure from its fundamental characteristics and corresponding desirable features. Such an adaptability should be achieved Without excessive complication, without unduly increasing the number of component parts of the garment, and constantly combining an attractive appearance with a reasonalble economy of manufacture. However, the garments of the prior art are of more or less rigid design and not adaptable in the sense above defined.

Accordingly, the general object of my invention is to provide a garment of the character described having the advantages set forth above.

A more specific object is to provide a garment having a basic combination of straight-cut and bias-cut portions to achieve elasticity without riding, which basic combination is adaptable in the hands of a person skilled in the art to different figures and to changing fashions.

Another object is to provide a garment comprising a skirt section having a bias-cut portion to provide elasticity, and means for controlling the proportions of said skirt section in accordance with the fashion regardless of the physical conformation of the wearer.

A further object is to provide a garment which can be styled to acquire any desired line while maintaining the same basic structural features.

Other related and ancillary objects of my invention will clearly appear as the description proceeds.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the upper section of a garment according to one embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the skirt section of the same garment.

Fig. 3 is a front view and Fig. 4 is a rear view of a woman wearing the same garment.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the upper sections of a garment according to another embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the skirt section of the same garment.

Fig. 7 is a front view and Fig. 8 is a rear view of a woman Wearing the same garment.

I want it understood that I have made no attempt in the drawings to show any actual style of garment. My purpose herein is merely to illustrate a basic garment structure, and to point out the distinguishing features thereof, so that persons skilled in the art can make the garment. It will be apparent to such persons, after reading this disclosure, how they can style and fit the garment in a practically unlimited variety of ways. The actual tailoring details are not part of the invention, as limited and defined in the claims.

Referring now in detail to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, which show one preferred embodiment of my invention, the garment, which in the particular case illustrated is a slip, comprises an upper or brassire section I a skirt section 2, and shoulder straps M. The skirt section is cut in the form of a sector, with one set of threads of the goods running parallel to its medial line which is indicated by a dot-and-dash line. The edges 3 naturally are cut at an angle to the threads of the goods. Therefore when the garment is on the wearer, and the edges 3 are joined together, the skirt can be said to have a straight-cut portion on one face, the front, in the case illustrated, and a bias-cut portion on the opposite face, the two portions gradually merging into one another. The portions 4 of the bias-cut portion extends across the waistline to provide enough elasticity at the narrowest part thereof to allow the garment to be put on and taken on without any need for special openings or closures. The portions 4 may reach all the way up, dividing the rear half of the upper section in two parts, or they may extend barely over the natural waistline, or they may have a configuration intermediate with respect to the two extreme ones above defined. This last is the case illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4. There are certain limitations as to the positions the portions i'may assume, which limitations will be made clear later, but in any case it is necessary that they should occupy as much of the waist region as is necessary to provide enough elasticity to apply and. remove the garment. Exactly how much}- will :of course depend, among other considerations, on the physical conformation of the wearer, that is the ratio :between her waist, bust, and shoulder measurements, and on the characteristics of the fabric employed.

Heretofore the use of a skirt in the form of a sector, as illustrated, has been restricted by the following factors. In the region of the waist, the body has a certain outward curvature, and the skirt sector must conform to that curvature. If that curvature is sharp the sector must flare out sharply, no matter how undesirable this may be. If the wearers physical conformation is such that the maximum outward curvature of her waist region is not great, and if at the same time flare-out skirts are of fashion, it may be possible to cut a skirt sector without difliculty. But

normally a skirt sector can be fitted to the Wearers waist region only at the cost of flaring out too much, causing a waste of material, and resulting in an unattractive or unfashionable garment, and one of rigid design.

I have found a way to control the shape and proportions of a skirt sector, even while extending it across the waist region, by the two-fold device of extending it above the waist only in those parts of the body which have a moderate outward curvature, that is are relatively flat at or near the waist, and cutting it away from those parts of the body which have a maximum outward curvature such as the zone of the hips, thus preventing said maximum curvature from determining the proportions of the sector.

In the preferred embodiment of Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 the cut-away portions, generally indicated with the numerals 5, are limited by the edges 6. Matching said cut-away portions are projections l of the brassiere section, which are joined to the skirt at their edges 8 to form the complete garment.

In another preferred embodiment, that of Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8, a skirt 9 is also cut in the form of a sector, and has bias-cut projections l extending upwardly to the rear of the upper section. The brassiere section II is limited to the front and the upper parts of the body. In addition, there are provided two panels l2, extending below the waist in the region of maximum curvature to fill the cut-away portion l3 of the skirt. Brassiere section H and panels l2 together substantially take the place of the single brassiere section l of the first embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the projections Ill may extend all the way up, as in the case of Figs. 5, 6, '7, and 8, or they may reach just over the waistline, or they may be of dimensions intermediate between the said two extreme cases. In any case, the single brassire section, or the brassire section and panels, may be cut in any suitable way with respect to the threads of the goods without departing from my invention.

It will be apparent now to a person skilled in the art how my basic garment structure may be styled and adapted to individual wearers and to changing fashions. This is done by changing the cut and relative proportions of the various parts, while maintaining the fundamental feature of a skirt sector having a bias part extending across the waistline for elasticity in a region of moderate curvature of the body, and being cut away in the regions of maximum curvature in a manher to render the proportions thereof independent of said maximum curvature. If the wearer has a relatively fiat figure, and a fairly flaring line is desired, then the cut-away portions will be small; but if the wearers figure is generously curved, and if a narrow skirt is desired, then the cut-away portions will be wider and deeper. Further styling can be achieved by making the. brassire section in more than one piece, by varying the shape and proportions thereof, and the mode and contour of attachment to the skirt, and so on. Further the bottom bias portion of the skirt, which is not required for elasticity, and may sag somewhat, may be bolstered with seams, or partly replaced with straight-cut panels. It is in fact a desirable characteristic in this art and an outstanding feature of my invention that the appearance of the garment can be changed so radically as to make it appear quite new to the customer, while the basic structure remains the same, with all its attending benefits.

In any case, it is understood that any such modification in the cut, style, or details of the garment as may be devised by persons skilled in the art involve no departure from the spirit of my invention, and fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A garment having an upper waist covering portion and a skirt portion, said skirt portion comprising a panel having upwardly converging side edges, a lower arcuate connecting edge, and an upper connecting edge having a centrally located upwardly extending projection, and being concavely cut on each side of such projection, the said projection on the upper edge being located above the waistline of the garment, and the curvatures of said concave cuts of the upper edge extending below the waistline of the garment at the sides thereof, the said upper waist covering portion having curvatures complementary to those of the upper edge of the skirt portion, the side edges of the skirt being secured to each other, the side edges of the upper waist covering portions being secured to each other and the complementary edges of the upper waist covering portion and the skirt being secured to each other, thereby to form an enveloping garment.

2. A garment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the connected side edges of the waist covering portion and the skirt portion form a straight line.

3. A garment in accordance with claim 1, wherein an upwardly projecting panel is formed at each of the side edges of the skirt to extend above the waistline of the garment, the outer edges of said panels being secured to each other, to form a rear seam for the garment, and the inner edges of said upward projecting panels being connected to the side edges of the waist covering portion.

MILDRED B. TEAMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,992,892 Schoenberger Feb. 26, 1935 2,000,633 Dichter May '7, 1935 2,033,456 Cunningham Mar. 10, 1936 2,231,559 Cadous Feb. 11, 1941 2,310,855 Manson Feb. 9, 1943 

